Grate for burning fine fuel.



W. MCCLAVE.

GRATE FOR BURNINGHNE FUEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.29, 1913.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE MORRIS PETERS c m nu nnllnnumunlunn Hulman O.. PHDTO-LITHD..WASHINGTON, D. l

W. McCLAVE.

GRATE FOR BURNING FINE FUEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.29. 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wbtmaooao WMM/W W. McCLAVE.

GRATE FOR BURNING FINE FUEL.

APPLlcATloN FILED AuG.29, 1913.

1,134,883, Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

@www n l m W. McCLAVE.

GRATE FOR BURNING FlNE FUEL. APPLICATION FILED Aue.29. 1913.

1,134,883. Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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narran sfrafrns Parana* ersten.

WILLIAM MQCLAVE, 0F SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO McCLAVE-BROOKSCOMPANY, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

GRATE FOR BURNING- FINE FUEL.

Application filed August 29, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM MCCLAVE,

a citizen of the United States, lresiding atv erence being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and to thefigures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to grates which are primarily designed forburning the smaller grades of coal, especially anthracite coal, in theburning of which it is essential that the air admission area of thegrate be reduced but at the same time distributed uniformly throughoutthe whole grate so as to supply air to the fuel at practically allpoints without admitting sufficient air at any one part to blow throughthe bed of fuel without effecting proper-combustion.

In the use of certain kinds and grades of coal fuelV which form largeclinkers in the ash, it has been found necessary or desirable tc employgrates having relatively large dumping or tilting sections in order tofacilitate the breaking up and removal of the clinkers, but considerabledifficulty has been experienced in so constructing the dumping ortilting sections that worn or burned parts may be readily renewedwithout the entire replacement of the sections and at the same timeguard against the evils incident to the growth of the metal forming thefuel supporting surface, and without disturbing'or varying the uniformdistribution of the air, especially where the air passages must benecessarily small in grates designed to burn the' smaller grades ofcoal. Gther difculties have been encountered in the manufacture of thistype of grate, particularly in the manufacture of the supportingportions in such. wise that they could be molded in ordinary flasks andembody a construction which will give a maximum efliciency with thecapacity for being easily assembled or taken down for the renewal ofburned or worn sections or parts.

The present invention is the culmination of a long series of efforts toovercome the defects pointed out and to produce a grate which will haveadvantages both from the Specification` of Letters Patent.

' Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

serial No. 787.342.

manufacturers Aand the users points of view, never possessed by thistype of grate before, all as will be hereinafter described and pointedout particularly in the appended claims. I

Referring to the accompanying drawings,-Figure l is a sectional viewfrom front tov rear through a furnace grate embodying the presentimprovements, the grate illustrated embodying four tilting or dumpingsections but it will be understood that this number of sections may beincreased or decreased if so desired. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of theportion of the grate shown in section in Fig. l, the two right handdumping sections being shown with theiri fuel supporting parts orremovable tops in place, the extreme left handsection being shownwithout the removable top or fuel supportingparts or the clamps forholding the same in place, the second section from the left hand endbeing shown without the removable topsbut with the clamps therefor inplace. Fig. 3 is aside elevation of one of the journal bars which extend`from front to rear of the furnace between the proximate ends of dumpingor tilting section, one of these bars being located 'at the end of eachseries of sections to form the bearings and supports therefor. Fig." 4is a top plan view of a section of the journal bar with the removabletops in place there# on. Fig. 5 is an elevationv of the portion of thejournal bar shown in Fig. 4, with some of the parts at one end insection. Fig. 6 is a transverse section substantially on the line 6 6 ofFig. 5. Fig. 7 is a similarsection substantially on the line 7--7 ofFig. 5. Fig. 8 is a section substantially on the line 8 8 of Fig. 5.Fig. 9 is a detail sectional elevation on an enlarged scale showing oneof the dumping or tilting' sections of the grate with its removabletops, the left hand removable top being in section on the line 9a, themiddle removable top being in `sec` tion on the line 9b and the 'righthand removable top being in elevation, the sectional' part being on theline indicatedatl 9c, Fig. 11. In this View the front and back frameends are shown in the positions they would occupy with relation to thefront and rear dumping sections of the grate. Fig. 10 is a top plan viewof the'. parts shown in section in Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a sectionalelevation of one end of a dumping or tilting sectionV substantially onthe line 11-11 of Fig. 9. Fig. l2 is a sectional elevation showing thecross sectional form of one of the removable tops, the plane of thesection being indicated in F ig. 9 at 12s-l2. Fig. 13 is an elevation ofa fragment of one of the frame ends showing the form of the air passagestherein.

Like letters of reference in the several figures indicate the sameparts.

The grate of the present invention, as before stated, embodies a seriesof dumping or tilting sections, each made of relatively large size andeach lumping or tilting section comprises a rigid grid or frame ofsubstantially rectangular form, that is to say, it is formed with endbars A and longitudinal bars A', best seen at the left hand end of Fig.2. Each end bar is provided with a suitable journal adapted to besupported in a suitable bearing in a bearer bar D. The bearer barsextend from front to rear of the furnace and are suitably supported attheir ends from the furnace walls in any approved or well known manner,and embody certain novel features of construction which will behereinafter referred to.

rlhe dumping or tilting sections,the frame work of which is formed bythe rigid grids A, A', have fuel supporting caps or removable topswhich, as compared with the area of the grate are relatively small so asto be of convenient size for manufacture and replacement or assemblageof the parts, each of the longitudinal bars A being adapted to support aseries of such removable caps or tops. The caps 0r tops are arrangedpreferably-'with the greatest length of their fuel supporting surfacestransversely of the bars on which they are mounted, and in order thatthe air area of the grate may be reduced to the necessary minimum, andat the same time provision be made for the growth of the metal withoutinterfering with either the operation of the sections as a whole or ofthe individual removable tops forming the sides of the fuel supportingsurface, the adjacent ends of the relatively fixed removable tops ofeach of the sections are made to overlap and underlap,respectively,whereby the division line or space between them will be inclined or diagonalto the general plane of the grate, with the result that each individualremovable top in each dumping section may grow or expand to a fargreater extent than would be possible were the proximate edges of theremovable tops arranged in direct opposition to each other.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 9 to l2, it will be seenthat each dumping section is provided with three bars A', and each bar Ais provided with a series of removable tops C arranged side by side.rllhe proximate ends of the removable tops U onY adjacent bars overlapand underlap at c, leaving a comparatively narrow inclined.

air inlet opening between the proximate ends, but inasmuch as theexpansion of the metal takes place in the plane of the grate or in aplane diagonal to the passage a much greater expansion is permissiblethan would be possible were the surfaces directly ojposed to each otherin the plane of the grate. Each removable top C has at one end narrowair passages c and within its body a series of narrow air passages c2,all of said passages being tapered upwardly or flared downwardly, asshown in the elevation, Fig. li, and in section in Fig. 12.

The overlapping and underlapping effect is secured by beveling theopposite ends of the tops upwardly or downwardly, as the case may be,and in rounding the end of the bevel to bring the overlap below theplane of the fuel supporting surface. 1With this construction a fuelsupporting surface is presented which will not catch the implements withwhich the bed of fuel is manipulated.

The bars A forming the frame or grid of each section are parallel withthe axis of the section and are provided on one side with theprojections a, having oppositely disposed downwardly inclined facesforming in elfect recesses or seats in which lit the downwardly taperingShanks C of the removable tops C. These Shanks C are relatively thin butwide transversely of the length of the tops and are formed integraltherewith but taper downwardly in both directions, as will be readilyunderstood from Figs. 9 and l1. rihe projections a on the bars Apreferably extend slightly above the general plane of the bar, theirupper faces being inclined as shown at as in F ig. 9 so as to preventaccumulation of ashes thereon, and in fact the upper edge faces of thebars are preferably inclined wherever ashes could fall upon the same,either between the removable tops or through the air openings in saidtops. All of the shanks with removable tops are mounted againstcorresponding sides of the bars A and are clamped in place by individualclamps B each clamp being held against its shank by a through bolt Z)having a head at one end and a nut at the other, to `which wrenches maybe applied for tightening up the parts or for separating them when a newtop is to be substituted. By the arrangement of the removable tops allon corresponging sides of the bars A it becomes possible with the overand underlapping` arrangement to renew any one of the tops withoutdisturbing the fastenings for the other tops of the section. Obviouslythis would be impossible were the shanks dropped into sockets in thebars, such as would not permit of lateral movement when the fasteningmeans is loosened.

The overlapping end of each top is, as shown in Fig. 9, preferably theend on the side of the shank against which the clamp seats, as thisfacilitates, to some extent, the ready insertion and removal of theparts. In order to support the clamps against any lateral movement theirproximate edges are abutted, as shown in Fig. l1, and they are providedon their inner faces with recesses b for the reception of projections orlugs a2 on the bars or projections a, whereby their up and down movementis prevented. The projections and recesses a2 and b are preferablyprovided with inclined top and `bottom faces, so that the parts willinterlock and fit together and prevent any looseness after the bolts areset up, but will readily free themselves when the bolts are loosened.The side portions of the removable tops, as shown in Fig. 12, aresomewhat wider in a vertical plane than the intermediate portions andare adapted to rest squarely vupon the upper edges of the bars A andclamps B, at the point indicated by the reference letter c3, where asubstantially flat surface is provided, as shown by dotted lines in Fig.9.

The journals A2 near the center of the ends of each section rest inbearings formed in bearer bars indicated generally by the letter D.These bearer bars are of proper sectional conformation to distribute themetal properly for supporting the load of the grate, and except at theends are located entirely below the plane of the fuel supportingsurface, whereby they are protected in a large measure from thedestructive action 0f the fire. Their upper edges are, however, somewhatpeculiarly formed, in order that they may receive andV properly supportthe dumping or tilting sections and also receive and support a series ofxed removable tops which will constitute a part of the fuel supportingsurface lying at the same level as the tops of the dumping sections.Referring particularly to Figs. 3 to 8, it will be seen that the bearerbar shown in Fig. 3 is provided with four open bearings cl, thisparticular bar being designed for a four-section grate. Each bar isprovided with a removable cap or top portion d', thus form-V ing acomplete housing for the journal. Each intermediate bearer bar isadapted to receive the journals of dumping sections on each sidethereof, and they are therefore made of sufficient thickness toaccommodate both journals, as will be readily understood from Fig. 11.The removable caps d seat on the walls forming the bearings but areadapted to be held in place and, in fact, surrounded and confined by aremovable top D', as will be readily understood from the left hand endof Fig. 5 and Fig. 8, which is a section through the bearing cap andtop. The caps D have downwardly extending lugs or side portions D2 whichfit on each side of and seat against inclined faces D3 Vformed onprojections extending upwardly from the upper edge of the bearer bar andat the ends of each of the sections D they are provided with projectionsD4 (see Figs. 4 and 5), said projections being adapted for the receptionof the end portions of removable tops E which are mounted on the bearerbar intermediate the bearing and adapted to be held firmly down inposition by downwardly extending stems E passing through openings in thebearer bar and having means whereby they may be drawn down into place,such, foil example, as a slot e for the reception of a taper pin or key,or the said ends may have a nut applied thereto in the ordinary manner.Y

The stems E are preferably integral with or anchored firmly in the topsE as shown lin Figs. 5 and 6, but their cross sectional area isrelatively small and the intermediate portions of the tops are of suchdimension as to leave relatively large air spaces within the tops,which, at their upper ends converge into narrow air openings e,.as shownin Fig. 4.

Wherever the bearer bar or the upper edge of the bearer bar is liable toreceive ashes passing down through the air inlet openings or otherwisefalling upon the same, the upper edge surfaces are beveled, or inclined,as shown clearly in Figs. 6 and 7, thus allowing any ashes which mayfall thereon to slide down into the ash pit, leaving the air' openingsclearand the surface of the iron exposed to the action of the air forcooling.

The construction of the bearer barsy with their removable tops, it willbe noted, is such that those tops which are located over the bearingsserve to hold the caps of the bearings in place, and while they have nofastening means connecting them directly with the bearer bars they arefastened by the intermediate tops E which overlie the end projections D4and are themselves firmly anchored by their shanks E so that the wholeline of removable tops will be held firmly in place and the fuelsupporting surface will substantially conform to the general fuelsupporting surface formed by the dumping or tilting sections. Thearrangement is furthermore of such a character that the removable topsof the tilting or dumping sectionsmay be made to work close to the edgesof the removable tops of the bearer bars, thus forming between them airadmission openings or cracks which will substantially conform insectional area to the air admission openings or cracks in the otherportions of the grate, and thereby insure a uniform distribution of theair to all parts of the bed of fuel.

Near their extremities the bearer bars D are provided with dove-tailtapering sockets F for the reception of correspondingly shapedprojections on the ends' of back and iis front end bars G and Hrespectively, said back and front end bars serving to make the wholestructure rigid and properly space the bearer bars. Said back and frontend frames are formed as shown in Figs. 9 and 13, that is to say, theyhave downwardly and upwardly curved edge projections g and it whichcorrespond in form to the form of the ends of the removable tops of thedumping or tilting sections, thus preserving the over and underlappingconstructional feature of the grate, and maintaining the properproportion of air inlet openings. In addition they are provided withslot openings for the admission of air, as shown at g and 7i, said slotopenings flaring downwardly and having bottom inclined walls forconducting any ashes passing into the openings down and off of the bars.

There exceedingly long bearer bars are employed it is sometimesnecessary or dcsirable to connect them together at an intermediate pointin their length and this may be readily accomplished by forming taperingdove-tail seats l, as shown in Fig. 3, and extending a bar having aproperly shaped end transversely across between the bearer bars, asshown in section at z' in Fig. l. So, too, in some instances it may bedesirable to brace the bars A of the grid or frame of the tilting ordumping sections, and this may be accomplished by a transverseintermediate connection, such as shown in section at K in Fig. l1,although this will not ordinarily be found necessary where the dumpingsections are of any reasonable dimensions.

The dumping or tilting sections may be operated in pairs or singly, onepreferred arrangement being that shown in Fig. l, where each section isprovided with a downwardly extending working bar lug L, the lugs L ofthe two rear sections being connected by a link L and the latter'pivotally connected with a working bar L2, extending out to the front ofthe furnace, and pivotally connected with a handle stub L3. The twoforward sections are similarly connected with a second working bar L4extending out to the front of the furnace and adapted to l e operated bya separate or the same handle stub as that of the rear section, it beingpreferred that the front and rear sections however' be movedindependently, whereby the fuel may be manipulated or raked off of twosections when the ashes are dumped therefrom, and then returned whilethe ashes are dumped from the other sections.

A grate embodving the construction herein set forth is highlyadvantageous from both the `manufacturers and users points of view. Theremovable tops of each dumping section are rigid with respect to cachother, and are of such dimension thatthe effect of growth is minimizedand such growth as does occur does not appreciably change the ratio orrelative proportion of the air inlet openings to the whole grate area,so that a uniform air supply can be maintained throughout all parts ofthe grate even after long continued and hard usage such as wouldpractically render grates having removable tops with oppositely disposededges practically inoperative for economical use with the line fuel.rlhe removable tops are easily and quickly removed and replaced shouldany of them become burnt out or broken, and they are so arranged as toetfectually protect the framework from direct contact with the fire andso as to leave said framework exposed to the cooling influence of theincoming air, whereby it is found that the framework is renderedpractically indestructible in the ordinary operations of the furnace.

aHaving thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A grate comprising a plurality of tilting sections, each sectionembodying a rigid grid having parallel bars and a series of removabletops rigidly mounted on each bar, the removable tops on adjacent barshaving their proximate ends overlapped below the general level of thefuel supporting surface and spaced to form air admission openingsbetween them inclined to the general plane of the grate.

2. A grate comprising a plurality of tilting sections, each sectionembodying a rigid grid having parallel bars and a series of removabletops having air passages therethrough rigidly mounted on each bar, theremovable tops on adjacent bars having their proximate ends overlappedbelow the general level of the fuel supporting surface and spaced toform air admission openings between them inclined to the general planeof the grate.

3. A grate comprising a plurality of tilting sections, each sectionembodying a rigid grid having bars parallel with the axis of the sectionand a series of removable tops having air passages therethrough rigidlymounted upon each bar, the front and rear edges of each top beingbeveled respectively upwardly and downwardly and the tops on adjacentbars having their oppositely beveled ends overlapped and spaced apart toform air openings inclined to the plane of the fuel supporting surface.

at. A grate comprising a plurality of tilting sections, each sectionembodying a rigid `grid having a plurality of bars parallel with theaxis of the section and said bars all having relatively small removabletops provided with air passages therethrough secured to correspondingsides thereof, said removable tops on adjacent bars being provided withoverlapping and underlapping edge portions respectively at theiradjacent edges below the general plane of the fuel supporting surface.

5. A grate comprising a plurality of tilting sections, each sectionembodying a rigid grid having a plurality of bars parallel with the axisof the section, all of said bars having seats on the same side, a seriesof removable tops having air passages therethrough carried by each barand with the proximate ends of the tops on adjacent bars overlapped butspaced to form air openings inclined to the plane of the grate and saidtops having downwardly tapering shanks mounted in the seats on the bar,and clamps and bolts for holding the shanks and tops in place. 1

6. A grate comprising a plurality of tilting-sections, each sectionembodying a rigid grid having a bar parallel with the axis of the grid,said bar having on one side proj ections with inclined edge surfacesforming seats and projections with inclined top and bottom surfaces, aseries of removable tops having air passages therethrough and havingdownwardly extending tapered Shanks seated in said seats, a clamp foreach shank having recesses for the projections with inclined top andbottom faces, and bolts for Y securing said clamps and Shanks inposition on the bar.

7. A grate comprising a plurality o f tilting sections, each sectionembodying a grid having a bar parallel with the axis of the section,said bar being provided with projections forming recessed seats in oneside thereof, and projections at each side of said seats for retainingclamps in position, clamps having recesses for the reception of saidlast mentioned projections, removable tops having air passagestherethrough resting on the upper edges of the bar and clamps and havingdownwardly extending shanks seated in said seats and bolts extendingthrough the clamps, shanks and bar for holding the same together.

8. A grate comprising a plurality of tilting sections, each sectionembodying a rigid grid having a plurality of bars parallel with the axisof the grid, all of said bars having seats on the corresponding sidethereof, and projections extending outwardly at intermediate pointsbetween said seats, a series of removable tops having air passagestherethrough and having'downwardly extending shanks mounted in saidseats, the proximate ends of the removable tops being overlapped butspaced to form narrow air outlet openings between them inclined to thegeneral plane of the grate, clamps having vrecesses for the reception ofsaid projections on opposite sides of the seats', and bolts passingception of said end projections whereby the cap confining tops are heldin position.

lO. ln a grate, the combination with a plurality of tilting sectionsembodying a rigid grid frame having journals at its opposite ends andremovable tops having air passages therethrough rigidly mounted on saidframe, of bearer bars having open bearings for said journals, caps forclosing said bearings, lremovable tops having air pasj sagestherethrough inclosing and conning` the caps and having end projections,and intermediate removable tops having air passages therethroughanchored to the bearerv bars and having recesses for the reception ofsaid end projections whereby the cap confining tops are held inposition.

l1. In a grate for Vne fuel, the combination with the tilting sectionsembodying rigid grids having parallel bars and end journals andremovable tops having air passages therethrough clamped to said barswith the proximate ends of the tops on adj acent bars overlapping butspaced apart, of bearer bars having open bearings for the grid journals,with upwardly tapering projections on opposite sides of said bearings,removable caps bridging the bearings to conne the journals therein,removable cap confining tops having air passages therethrough havingbifurcated portions embracing the bearer bar on opposite sides of thebearing, and intermediate removable tops anchored to the bearer bar withinterlocking projections and recesses between the cap confining andanchored tops for retaining the cap confining tops in position.

WILLIAM MOCLAVE. Vitnesses:

MELVILLE D. CHURCH, THOMAS DURANT.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, oy addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

